"Mom, what does dad look like?"
Dior did not know anything about his father. Her grandmother (bluntly) stated that he was a bad man, a jerk and a disloyal person. Her grandfather kept changing the topic when she asked him. She wanted to know the truth directly from her mother. Carino was stoned by her sudden question and stopped hanging the laundry.
"Giogio? He is a handsome pretty boy." She paused for a while, "He is a young man with fair skin, blue eyes and blonde hair just like yours."
Dior was not satisfied with the answer, "His... personality?"
"Your father is a smart, mature and calm person. He loves helping people and generous. He has a big sense of justice and strong determination, but..." She remembered how icy Giorno's eyes, "He is a bit ruthless and cold at the same time. It makes hard for people to approach him. I wonder what kind of horrible life he has gone through to have such a personality at a young age. He also always looked distant and lonely ..."
She sat down and laughed, "I actually teased him a lot when we were together. He was only sixteen years old boy with unstable hormone, sexually confused and way too stiff for his age. I sometimes pinched his cheek, surprised him from behind or whispered something lewd. He would blush and said, 'A woman shouldn't say such a thing'."
Her mother spoke casually as she was practiced for this the whole time. "Deep inside somewhere, he is just a child. He does not understand a single thing about love. He bought me flowers and a dress, took me to a fancy restaurant and accommodated any luxurious stuff just for me. I kept rejecting his gift, but he insisted. At first, I thought he came from a rich family, turned out he was a.... Don. I was shocked. He was only sixteen years old and he was head of the mafia."
There was a pause for a moment, "He cut me off, probably with reason to keep me safe or something like that. Laugh, pain and other feelings are something that should be shared in a relationship. No matter what kind of bond you have, you should let people be part of it. I was ready with the consequences. I guess he does not want to lose me that badly. "
"Why don't you stop him?"
"I... cannot do that." Her face is filled with regret. "If I make him follow me, he will abandon his dream. He will be an empty man. His dream makes him alive and he is actually changing this town into a better place. We live in different places from the beginning." She laughed and wiped tears on her eyes. "I shouldn't even have a relationship with a sixteen years old boy. I knew it was morally wrong, but he made me weak."
"Do you love him?"
"I hate the fact that he lies about himself, leave me behind and never come back, but ...." She remembers her time together with Giorno. It was truly a magical moment. That woman was smiling, "I will be lying if I say I don't love him."
Dior wakes up from her dream. She lies on a huge bed with a satin bedsheet. Her surrounding is unfamiliar. This room is too luxurious for her. There are big sliding glass windows, a 72-inch plasma TV, a small refrigerator near the cupboard, a large closet and chandelier on the ceiling. Who put the chandelier in the bedroom? A carpet in the bathroom too!
"You're awake."
A woman in her 20's with short twirling pink hair stands next to the door. She wears a black dress with a slit on the thigh. Dior recognizes her from a magazine. She is a famous singer currently famous in Italy.
That woman yells loudly, "She wakes up!"
"Good morning, Princess. Do you have a good sleep?"
Another young woman pops out from the door. She has braids on her short dark hair. She wears rather tight and provocative clothes. A man with an unfriendly look stands behind her, wearing a jacket with holes. He brings a pancake and a glass of milk. Dior to realize they are his father's friend.
The man put the food in front of her. "Are you hungry?"
Dior nods. She eats her breakfast in silence. The three of them a bit amazes at her appetite. She has finished eating in five minutes. Her plate is clean like there are no foods exist from the beginning.
"Where is Mister Giovanna?"
"You call him Mister?" Fugo asks her. He gets an elbow hit from Sheila.
"He is... a bit busy. Don't worry, he'll come soon."
Trish and Sheila help her to take a bath and get dressed. They do not have child clothes and do not have time for shopping. She ends up with Sheila's former dress. The dress is a bit loose but Dior does not complain. It is better to dress in clean clothes than wear dirty and ripped one. Dior asks them to braid her hair. Trish is gleeful and uses the opportunity to play with her long hair.
"I'm sorry. My mother usually the one who does my hair..."
Three of them feel pity toward Dior. She loses her mother at a young age and gets dragged into the mafia war. Dior trembles every time people get closer to her. She is still frightened by the incident. They do not blame her for it and are worried it will affect her.
Trish, Fugo, and Sheila spend the afternoon together while waiting for Giorno and Mista. Both of them have to handle the mess in the harbor. Three of them introduce themselves. Dior raises her hand and asks a question. "What's a stand?"
They look at each other. Sheila and Trish take out their stand. Dior is amazed to see Voodoo Child and Spice Girl. She is shaking her hand with the stands. Sheila starts explaining about the stand, the special ability and her job experience with exaggeration. Fugo sits afar from them. He does not want to show his stand. Dior notices this and walks to him.
"Do you have stand too, Mister?"
"Yes, but I rather not show it. I can't control it. It's worse in the past."
"Can I see it, please?"
She gives him an enthusiastic face. Fugo cannot refuse her puppy eyes. He takes a deep breath and takes out Purple Haze. That stand is frightful as usual. Stitches around mouth and neck are hidden behind a transparent visor and threatening virus bulbs on the fist. Dior shakes the stand's hand and it listens to her. Fugo is perplexed but Trish and Sheila find it cute.
It is her turn to show her own stand. Dior scratches her head. She does not know how to summon her stand. Trish understands her confusion. Her stands rarely appear as well.
"Are you there? Can you come here?"
The stand appears in the air. It flies in a circle surrounding its owner. Dior is dizzy because of the spin. After telling it to stop playing around, the stand sits on the ground.
"Okay.... So last time you turn into an animal? Can you do it again?"
"I'm not sure...." Dior is confused. Everything is new to her. She speaks to her stand. "Can you transform me into an animal like the last time?"
The stand nods eagerly. She starts flying around them. However, it does not transform Dior. The stand turns the adult into an animal instead. Trish has squirrel tail, Sheila ear changes into rabbit and Fugo gets a dog tail.
Trish screams. "I have a tail!"
Sheila puts her hand near her rabbit ear. "What? I can't hear you!"
Dior is panic. Fugo interferes and speaks to her. "Ask your stand to turn them back."
All of them turn back to normal. This gives Dior an idea to make a small magic show with her stand power. She turns herself into several different animals. The performance is adorable that they cannot help but smile all the time.
They see a resemblance between the daughter and father. Both definitely have natural charm. For a child, Dior is mature. She does not throw any tantrums and listen to them. That little girl has the same sincere and shining serenity. While Giorno serenity makes people loyal to him, her serenity makes people love her. A lot of people will fight for her affection in the future.
At the end of the show, Dior decides to name her stand Owl City. They learn several things about her stand. It has a time limit. The time will be shorter the bigger or complex the transformation. She can change into the form she wants, but she needs to learn it. The transformation is slow, but it gradually becomes faster the more you turn into the same thing. She can do a full transformation, but it is only last for several seconds.
---
"We're back! Does the little girl already awake?"
Giorno and Mista return from their work. Giorno insists to come home early to see Dior. He takes the wheel away from Mista and drives past the speed limit and red light. The police chase them but Giorno turns few cars into the animal. Mista does not know what happens next but the police are forced to call animal control now.
Giorno caressed her head, "Do you want to see your grandparent?"
Dior's answer is obvious. Giorno needs to pay the hospital bill. They enter his office to take the money. In there, Dior sees a turtle sitting on a desk. Polnareff greets her, making Dior jumps in surprise. The French man laughs at her reaction. "Oh, so this is the girl? She is pretty."
She touches the turtle. "Is-is this real?"
Giorno chuckled at her reaction. "You go through something worse. I'm sure talking animal is nothing."
They go inside the turtle. It is surprisingly spacious inside. The turtle has changed several times and follows the modern development. It has a telephone and a computer now. Giorno then takes some money from a save for medical bills. Keeping money inside the turtle is safer than the bank.
Polnareff introduces himself to Dior. She attaches to him quite fast. While Giorno and Polnareff talk, Dior peeks at Giorno's stuff inside his bag. She looks inside his wallet and found a photo of a blond man with a star mark on his back. "Dio Brando" is written on it.
"Who is this?"
"That's your grandfather."
"My grandfather?" She looks dazzled, "What is he like?"
Giorno gives her a bitter smile. He tells her that her grandfather is not exactly a good guy. He involves innocent people and brings sorrow to others. Dior feels guilty. She keeps stepping on an invisible grenade every time she brings up the family topic in conversation.
Giorno finishes his preparation. After several minutes, they come out from the turtle. Fugo rushes to give him the phone. Speedwagon Foundation calls He cursed something in Japanese after the call. (He cannot do it in Italy or English, Dior might hear him.)
"Jotaro Kujo comes here. He wants to see Dior."
Sheila joins the conversation, "Should we pick him up or something?"
"No need."
Mista almost gets a heart attack when Jotaro Kujo appears from behind. Over 180 cm tall with a death stare, he is an intimidating and frightening man. Jotaro spares no time for a small chat. He talks straight to the point, "I heard you have... a daughter? Where is she?"
Everyone turns their head at Dior. At first, Jotaro is confused but he connects the dot. That man looks at Dior then Giorno. His stoic face changes a bit, "You.... How old are you when she was born?"
Giorno cannot hide his embarrassment, "It was... a long story."
They continue their conversation in another room. Mista and Sheila stay to affirm their boss's safety. Trish and Dior move to Giorno's personal library. She reads "Moby Dick" while waiting since it is the easiest book to understand. She meets Jotaro when she goes to the kitchen.
"It's dangerous to wander alone."
"I'm just going to get the juice."
He ends up following her. She offers him some drink and Jotaro accepts it. Dior later finds out that Jotaro is a distant family (and he has a Ph.D.). Knowing about her relatives makes her happy. Jotaro is overwhelmed by her question.
"Mister Kujo, do you hate my father?"
He is surprised by her doubt. "Why do you think of that?"
"Your expression. You always frown when you see him."
"I have a bad history with your grandfather before. Do you know him?"
"I heard my grandfather is not a good person. He had a terrible past, but it did not justify his action. Would he lead a different life if he was blessed?"
The possibility of the answer is low, but it confirms Jotaro's conviction. Dior is not a heartless child. She takes after both her father and mother. Her green eyes show warmth and blue eyes show her innocent. She is just a normal seven-year-old little girl. She does not even have the Joestar mark, which means they do not have a special connection.
He has enough information and stands up from his seat, "I will take my leave now."
. "You leave already? Stay longer~ I still want to hear about Japan!" She is wrapping herself on Jotaro's arms. Dior likes Jotaro despite his cold attitude. It is not every day you get a visit from a handsome professor. Jotaro himself dislikes her attitude. He has a problem dealing with a flirty girl. The marine biologist shakes her off gently from his arms, "Yare yare daze. You will be a troublesome girl in the future."
Dior is grinning, "I get that a lot."
Giorno is surprised to see Jotaro next to Dior. He thinks Jotaro has left the place. Dior knows it is her cue to step away. She goes back to the library. Giorno shows the exit to Jotaro. They are talking on their walk.
"What are you going to do with her?"
"At first, I decided to keep her away. It was foolish of me. I just assume the best thing was to leave her when we should deal with this together. I won't make the same mistake again. I'll do the right thing now."
Jotaro pulls down his hat, "You make a better father than me."
Giorno does not hear him, "Pardon?"
"It's nothing."
---
They are in the hospital. Dior is relieved to the tears to see her grandparent. Giorno gives Mista a sign. He understands and takes Dior to buy ice cream. Mr. and Mrs. Fiore know about his intention. Giorno needs to talk about Dior.
Mrs. Fiore coldly asks him. "What do you want?"
"I want to apologize first. I... never say sorry for leaving your daughter."
Mr. Fiore frowns, "It's a little too late for that. I suggest you want to talk about Dior?"
Giorno knows he will be despised for this. However, he will accept the consequences.
"I'm taking Dior."
They are angry at him but they cannot argue. Mr. Fiore looks frustrated from his face. Mrs. Fiore does not even take a glance at him. The old man finally speaks his mind, "Do you really think we have an option? We know we can't keep her safe the whole time but we don't want to give her to you. We love her."
"Don't worry. I'm not taking her far away. You can still see her. I just want Dior to stay with me for better protection."
Mrs. Fiore finally glares at him, "You keep taking away everything precious to us. I hate you for that."
"I know."
For the first time, Mr. Fiore threatens him. He shows a fury that has been buried these whole years. "If you leave her like our daughter, I will kill you, Giovanna. Do not make me regret my judgment."
Giorno understands and accepts their resentment. They will never like him but they are still the grandparent of her daughter. Giorno can live with it. Dior needs her family. He cannot always make the right choice for Dior. Having a relative will help him grow as a better father.
---
Three months has passed away. Dior is living together with Giorno. Her grandparents still visit her. Giorno sends them a ticket for a holiday. They are currently on vacation in Switzerland. Dior receives an email from her grandmother. She shows the picture (together with a threat message) to him.
"Your grandmother... is quite good with technology."
"You should see her Facebook. She has a lot of likes."
The gang prepares themselves for a family photo upon Dior's request. They are waiting in the garden for Mista and Trish. He runs behind her, "Trish, you're too fast!"
"Come one! I run away from my managers! I have another interview after this."
"Are you busy?" Murolo appears. "I'm here for information about..."
"Murolo! You should join us too." Fugo and Sheila drag the poor man. He is forced to join them.
"Would somebody hold me?" Polnareff asks for a request. Sheila volunteers for it. All of them finally gather in front of the camera. Before the photographer takes the picture, Dior tugs Giorno's clothes. "Mister Giovanna?"
"Yes?"
"Can I call you... Papa?"
The rest of the gangs just see something new. Giorno has a genuine expression of happiness on his face. He smiles brightly and answers her question, "Of course you can!"
The day full of the eventful moment. Giorno uses Golden Experience to grow flowers in the garden. Dior runs and makes a crown garland for him. She glows under the sun. That little girl shines just like a flower in a golden field.
-end-
Author note:
I swear I was in a panic when I accidentally delete picture cover for this part. I ended up making a new picture of every member of Passione and Rosa. The struggle was real. Heck, it was a big mess. *I hate you Ms. Paint.*
Thank you for reading :D